Continuing the topic of the mass beating of prisoners in Colony 89

08.07.11
We reported on this event in our publication from 06.07.2011, “Are State Penitentiary Service special unit fighters again maiming prisoners en masse?”, and we have also received the following information:

“Beating of prisoners at DKK-89

On Tuesday, 5 July, at the Dnipropetrovsk Correctional Colony 89, in the maximum-security sector, a mass beating of prisoners occurred for absolutely no reason, specifically by a special forces company brought into the territory of the institution.

Many have broken ribs, damaged limbs, bruised internal organs, kidneys, etc., and what is especially characteristic of this case, some have broken jaws. This speaks to a particular cruelty, even in the ‘everyday’ practice of special forces ‘exercises’. Usually, with the goal of preventing visible consequences, bruises, etc., blows to the face are not dealt. In this case, they ‘worked’ the full programme. There is solid cover from above, so one can not look back at anything.

The following prisoners suffered especially: Pohorelov A. I., Kostetskyi A. I., Tymoshenko S. A., Ursol H. H., Mushynskyi V. I., Ryzhykh A. V., Kutlieiev V. I., and others.

In connection with this, on 06.07.2011, the convicts of the maximum-security sector declared an official hunger strike and are demanding a meeting with the supervising prosecutor from the General Prosecutor's Office, demanding an improvement in detention conditions, and guarantees that something similar will not happen again.

A huge request to everyone who considers this their duty to respond to this information.

At one time, I personally had a chance to get acquainted with this very DKK 89, the maximum-security sector. Of course, it deserved my special attention. This is despite the fact that by then I had already managed to get personally acquainted with a whole range of colonies and prisons throughout the territory of Ukraine. At risk to myself, and for other prisoners, I then, in 2005, managed to smuggle an article about everything to the editors of certain newspapers (see ‘White Swan or Buchenwald? Dnipropetrovsk Correctional Colony No. 89’).

As we can see, everything is the same as before, and it is necessary to repeat everything again and again.

07.07.2011. Harkavenko Ihor Olehovych”

At the same time, yesterday, 07.07.11, in the afternoon, a man phoned my mobile and introduced himself as the head of the State Penitentiary Service Management in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Anatoliy Mykhailovych Babets.

He reported that no special unit fighters of the State Penitentiary Service were brought into Colony No. 89 in the city of Dnipropetrovsk, and the events that took place in this institution were a “typical exercise” (I quote verbatim – A. D.), and there are absolutely no maimed convicts.

At the same time, we are receiving more and more reports about the horrific details of that brutal beating of prisoners on 5 July 2011.

I asked Anatoliy Mykhailovych if I could personally be convinced that his words—that there are no beaten convicts in the colony—were true by meeting with the prisoners whose surnames are mentioned in numerous reports, and whether the special forces of the State Penitentiary Service were not involved in the mass beating of people? I proposed doing this immediately, for which I was personally ready to travel to Dnipropetrovsk. Babets replied that such a visit is currently impossible, since a prosecutorial inspection is ongoing, but on Tuesday, 12 July, he is ready to grant permission for representatives of the public to verify the specified information.

I understand that time is passing; the bodily injuries which, according to our data, the convicts have, are healing.

At the same time, we would like to appeal to the leadership of the central apparatus of the State Penitentiary Service for assistance in fulfilling the promises made by the head of the State Penitentiary Service Management, Anatoliy Mykhailovych Babets—namely, granting permission to visit the institution on 12 July and ensuring that representatives of the public meet with the convicts of the 89th colony whose surnames will be named.

Andriy Didenko, programme coordinator of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group